Samuel L. Jackson On Martin Scorsese’s Marvel Comments: “That’s Like Saying Bugs Bunny Ain’t Funny”

When critically-acclaimed figures in the film world collide

Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson, pictured here in 2018, offered his take on Martin Scorsese's take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons

Evidently, Samuel L. Jackson does not like it when high-profile cinephiles express their displeasure with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2012, he got into a bit of a feud with A.O. Scott of The New York Times following Scott’s lukewarm review of The Avengers. Now, Jackson has another target for his frustration: noted director Martin Scorsese, who recently sparked a heated debate in the film world by arguing that the Marvel Cinematic Universe resulted in movies closer to a theme park experience than the platonic ideal of cinema. 

In a recent conversation with Variety, Jackson offered his take on Scorsese’s take on the film series in which Jackson plays uber-competent and eyepatched spy Nick Fury:

“I mean that’s like saying Bugs Bunny ain’t funny. Films are films. Everybody doesn’t like his stuff either,” Jackson told Variety‘s Angelique Jackson at the grand opening of Tyler Perry’s new studio in Atlanta, Ga. “Everybody’s got an opinion, so I mean it’s okay. Ain’t going to stop nobody from making movies.”

Jackson’s career on the screen has involved work with a number of major American filmmakers — and if you go back far enough, you’ll see that his path has crossed Scorsese’s as well. In 1990’s Goodfellas, he played Parnell Steven “Stacks” Edwards, who is unceremoniously murdered by Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito. 

Jackson’s words — “Everybody’s got an opinion, so I mean it’s okay” — aren’t terrible words to live by. And right now, the cinematic landscape is big enough for both Avengers: Endgame and The Irishman; whether you like 3-hour-long action epics or 3.5-hour-long character studies, the world of film has you covered.

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